Quantitative Impact of Textbook Companion PowerPoint® Slides and Related Instructional Approach on Student Learning in Statics

Robert T. Bailey; Christopher H. Morrell

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Mechanical Engineering (ME) Poster Session
Tagged Division: Mechanical Engineering
Page Count: 11
Page Numbers: 23.1014.1 - 23.1014.11
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--22399
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/22399
Download Count: 472

Paper Authors

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Robert T. Bailey P.E. Loyola University Maryland

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Dr. Robert T. Bailey is currently associate professor and chair of the Department of Engineering at Loyola University Maryland. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florida, the latter in 1991. He worked in industry for Westinghouse and Science Applications International Corporation, served as a senior program officer at the National Research Council, and taught previously at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His research interests include mechanistic engineering analyses to support risk and safety assessment of industrial processes, application of computational fluid dynamics to microscale flows involving mixing and chemical reaction, and improvements in engineering education. Dr. Bailey is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Society of Engineering Education and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Maryland.

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Christopher H. Morrell Loyola University Maryland

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Dr. Christopher Morrell is a professor of statistics in the Mathematics and Statistics Department at Loyola University at Maryland. He received his B.Sc. degree in Computer Science and Statistics from the University of Cape Town at South Africa, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been a faculty member at Loyola University Maryland since 1986. He also works at the National Institute on Aging with researchers in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Sciences. In 2010 he was elected as a fellow of the American Statistical Association. His area of interest in statistics is the linear mixed-effects model that is used to model longitudinal data.

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Abstract

Quantitative Impact of Publisher-Provided Teaching Materials and Related Instructional Approach on Student Learning in StaticsAbstractAt the authors’ institution, Statics is taught to first-semester sophomores as one of theirfoundational engineering courses. The popular textbook Engineering Mechanics: Statics by R.C. Hibbeler has been used for some time, and prior to 2010, instructors taught this course using atraditional lecture/whiteboard approach. Overall student performance was generally good, but inan attempt to improve student learning, the first author adopted a modified version of thePowerPoint® slides that accompany Hibbeler’s textbook beginning in 2010. This paper describesthe impact of using these slides (and the attendant instructional approach) on studentperformance and perceived learning.Two student cohorts were considered: (1) the 2005 and 2009 classes (47 students), who weretaught by the author using the traditional method; and (2) the 2010 and 2011 classes (42students), who were taught by the author using the revised method. Student performance wasassessed by examining the Statics grade distributions in each cohort as well as the final examscores. (The same final exam was administered to each class.) In addition, perceived learningwas assessed via questionnaires that asked the students to evaluate their proficiency relative toseven specific course learning objectives. Student grades in freshman Calculus and Physics werealso examined to help identify a priori differences in cohort capabilities.Quantitative analysis revealed that the revised approach did not have a statistically significanteffect on either the final course grade or the final exam score in Statics. This was true for bothmale and female students. The revised approach also had no statistically significant effect on thelevel of perceived learning indicated in numerical student self-assessment surveys. The studentsdid indicate via written comments that they considered the revised approach to be helpful in theirstudies. Reasons for these results are discussed, and possible changes to improve the impact ofthe revised approach on student performance are provided.

Citation
Format

Bailey, R. T., & Morrell, C. H. (2013, June), Quantitative Impact of Textbook Companion PowerPoint® Slides and Related Instructional Approach on Student Learning in Statics Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--22399

TY - CPAPER
AB - Quantitative Impact of Publisher-Provided Teaching Materials and Related Instructional Approach on Student Learning in StaticsAbstractAt the authors’ institution, Statics is taught to first-semester sophomores as one of theirfoundational engineering courses. The popular textbook Engineering Mechanics: Statics by R.C. Hibbeler has been used for some time, and prior to 2010, instructors taught this course using atraditional lecture/whiteboard approach. Overall student performance was generally good, but inan attempt to improve student learning, the first author adopted a modified version of thePowerPoint® slides that accompany Hibbeler’s textbook beginning in 2010. This paper describesthe impact of using these slides (and the attendant instructional approach) on studentperformance and perceived learning.Two student cohorts were considered: (1) the 2005 and 2009 classes (47 students), who weretaught by the author using the traditional method; and (2) the 2010 and 2011 classes (42students), who were taught by the author using the revised method. Student performance wasassessed by examining the Statics grade distributions in each cohort as well as the final examscores. (The same final exam was administered to each class.) In addition, perceived learningwas assessed via questionnaires that asked the students to evaluate their proficiency relative toseven specific course learning objectives. Student grades in freshman Calculus and Physics werealso examined to help identify a priori differences in cohort capabilities.Quantitative analysis revealed that the revised approach did not have a statistically significanteffect on either the final course grade or the final exam score in Statics. This was true for bothmale and female students. The revised approach also had no statistically significant effect on thelevel of perceived learning indicated in numerical student self-assessment surveys. The studentsdid indicate via written comments that they considered the revised approach to be helpful in theirstudies. Reasons for these results are discussed, and possible changes to improve the impact ofthe revised approach on student performance are provided.
AU - Robert T. Bailey P.E.
AU - Christopher H. Morrell
CY - Atlanta, Georgia
DA - 2013/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Quantitative Impact of Textbook Companion PowerPoint® Slides and Related Instructional Approach on Student Learning in Statics
UR - https://peer.asee.org/22399
DO - 10.18260/1-2--22399
ER -